The way the game played out Tuesday night between Blacksburg and Hidden Valley in one of two River Ridge District girls basketball tournament games, one could see the storm brewing for an upset.
Hidden Valley came in as the regular-season second place finisher, with their only two district losses coming from frontrunner Salem. Likewise, the Titans had beaten Blacksburg twice, by margins of 5 and 15 points.
Blacksburg was looking to break into the upper echelon, where heretofore there had been a huge separation between Salem and Hidden Valley in comparison to the other four district squads.
The Lady Bruins used a fourth quarter surge to break open a 30-30 tie after three quarters, and Blacksburg came away with the 50-47 win in the Titan gym. Blacksburg advances to play Salem, a 65-33 winner over Cave Spring in Tuesday’s other semifinal, in the championship game Friday evening at Roanoke College.
“This is a big win for our program,” Blacksburg head coach Roger Henderson said at courtside after the conclusion. “To beat Hidden Valley in a tournament game moves us to a higher level.”
Blacksburg came out in a swarming man-to-man defense that seemed to surprise the Lady Titans.
“We wanted to play man-to-man start to finish,” Henderson noted.
The Lady Bruins scored the game’s first six points and led 11-7 after the first quarter. Hidden Valley found its game form and took its first lead at 17-15 before closing strong to take a 21-16 advantage into the halftime break. The Bruins missed 5 uncontested stickbacks in the first half.
Hidden Valley led by as many as 8 in the third quarter, before Blacksburg stormed back. Maura McMahon’s three-pointer in the final seconds sent the teams to the final frame tied at 30.
Blacksburg got agressive with their rebounding at both ends and pulled out to a 38-30 lead as Hidden Valley couldn’t find the basket. The Lady Titans got as close as 4 points in the final two minutes, but the Bruins added 4 free throws in the final minute to seal the victory. The Titans hit a three-pointer at the buzzer, too late to do anything but make the final margin closer.
McMahon led Blacksburg with a game-high 18 points, while Catherine Boyle tacked on 12.
Hidden Valley was led in scoring by Hailey Singleton’s 16 points. Kelly King added 15.
“Our problem tonight was lack of hustle and lack of desire,” Hidden Valley head coach Randy Bush noted. “Blacksburg played well and they beat us by getting key rebounds. Then, we didn’t get back on defense. “
by Bill Turner
